VES Seeks EFX Awards Submissions

The Visual Effects Society is accepting submissions for the second annual VES awards, scheduled for Feb. 18 at the Hollywood Palladium. The VES will honor EFX artists and technologists in 23 categories and grant its first lifetime achievement award.

The awards encompass visual effects, character animation, special effects, matte painting, models/miniatures, photography and performances by male and female actors. Categories include work in motion pictures, music videos, blurbs, skeins and specs.

Last year, New Line’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers took the most awards in the live-action category. The team, led by EFX supervisor Dean Wright, ended up nabbing statuettes for Best Special Effects in a Motion Picture, Best Effects Art Direction, Best visual Effects Photography, Best Models and Miniatures, Best Character Animation, Best Compositing and Best Visual Effects in an Effects-Driven Motion Picture. The only category it lost in was Best Matte Painting, which went to Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones. On the animated front, Stuart little 2 beat out Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron for Best Character Animation in an Animated Motion Picture.

Between The Matrix Reloaded, Terminator 3, X2: X-Men United, The Hulk, Pirates of the Caribbean, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and others, the summer movie season presented plenty of competition and should make for some tough decisions for this year’s judges. However, the most highly anticipated EFX film of the year doesn’t come out until December. TheLord of the Rings: Return of the King is favored to make a repeat of last year’s successes. We also suspect Disney/Pixar’s Finding Nemo will swim off with its share of awards on the animation side.